How do Hollywood SFX teams create realistic bullet hits and sparks in movies?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the techniques used by Hollywood special effects teams to create realistic representations of bullet impacts, including debris and sparks. Participants explore the methods behind these effects, their realism, and personal interests in filmmaking.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions how Hollywood creates the visual effect of a bullet hitting a box, noting the unrealistic puff of debris that is often depicted.
  • Another participant challenges the notion that bullets create clouds of debris or sparks upon hitting drywall or metal, suggesting this is not accurate.
  • A participant expresses a desire to create small movies without concern for scientific accuracy, indicating a preference for visual impact over realism.
  • Squibs are mentioned as a method for creating bullet impact effects, described as small explosive devices that simulate the impact visually.
  • There is a discussion about the potential dangers of using pyrotechnics, emphasizing the need for trained professionals to handle such effects.
  • Some participants reflect on the unrealistic portrayal of bullet impacts in a specific video, noting that the effects seem exaggerated compared to real-life scenarios.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the realism of bullet impact effects, with some asserting that the effects are exaggerated while others seem to accept them as part of cinematic storytelling. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the accuracy of these portrayals.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference specific materials (like drywall and boxes) and effects (like sparks) without reaching a consensus on their realistic portrayal in films. There is also an acknowledgment of the limitations of personal experience versus cinematic representation.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in filmmaking, special effects, or the technical aspects of visual storytelling may find this discussion relevant.

Pengwuino
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Does anyone know how hollywood makes it look like a bullet hit... whatever it hit? I know they use blood packets for when it hits bodies but let's say a bullet 'hits' a box, you see a big puff of debris come out where the bullet entered (not even what happens in real life right?).. how od htey do this? And how do htey make sparks where a bullet supposedly hit a peace of metal?

If anyone goes to fileplanet much or is interested in Max Payne, someone did a tribute for it called "Hero" which had a lot of crazy special effects for bullets and it seemed kinda low-budget... stuff like that is hella interesting to me
 
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A bullet doesn't cause a cloud of debris when it hits piece of drywall(have you ever handled a piece of that stuff), or cause sparks when it hits a piece of metal? Thats news to me.

As for "Hero", this wouldn't be the same movie with Jet Li in it, would it?
 
I know its BS but i want to make some small movies and obviously, don't care to be scientifiaclly accurate lol.

And no, it was a 5 minute parady of Max Payne the game (but yes Hero is that Jet Li movie). It was really awesome and was done by a bunch of students. The quality was absolutely 100% hollywood movie quality though!
 
What you want are "squibs" - Google it (in conjunction with "bullet special effects").

Squibs are sort of firecrackers, previously hidden where the bullets are supposed to hit, that make itty-bitty explosions when triggered off-screen.


Um, this falls in the realm of pyrotechnics, and you should not attempt this without a trained pyrotechnician, that is, unless you have eyes and fingers to spare.
 
I have friends eyes adn fingers to spare ;) But yah... doubt id ever do anything and if i did, id get someone who knows what there doing to set it up.
 
Pengwuino said:
I know its BS but i want to make some small movies and obviously, don't care to be scientifiaclly accurate lol.
I think so-crates was saying the opposite, that real bullets do make puffs of debris when hitting drywall or sparks when hitting metal.
 
Oh pff, miscommunication. I didnt say drywall but i did say how the bullet sparks when it hits a wall. The thing with the box is that the boxes you get most things in, those generic fold up types (nothing special like styrophone or multi-layer), a bullet should just punch a small hole in it. If you guys had ever seen the video I am talken about, a bullet hits this plain old ordinary box and a huge puff of smoke and debris come out where the bullet was and it just seems so unrealistic. As far as the bullets hitting a piece of metal... the sparks in the video seemed too unrealistic to be the real spark effect.

But yah, i totally want to do some cool movie like that :D
 

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